US strikes three Iranian tankers after warships targeted

U.S. forces struck three Iranian oil tankers Saturday after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles toward two U.S. Navy warships in regional waters, the U.S. military said.

U.S. Central Command said an American aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer “successfully evaded” multiple attacks by the IRGC. No American personnel were harmed, CENTCOM said.

The U.S. response hit tankers in the Gulf of Oman and near Iran’s Kharg Island, a strategically important hub for the country’s oil trade. CENTCOM said U.S. forces permanently disabled two crude oil carriers: the M/T Downy off the coast of Kharg Island and the M/T Stark 1 near Jask, close to the Strait of Hormuz. A third vessel, the M/T Kylo, was completely destroyed near the Gulf of Oman.

The Kylo was not carrying oil at the time, and its crew was directed to abandon the vessel before American forces struck it in multiple locations, CENTCOM said. Iranian media reported earlier Saturday that a tanker near Kharg had been hit by U.S. missiles and that its crew was being evacuated. Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim news agency reported no casualties.

“Let the message to the IRGC be clear: If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost — taking out three of yours,” Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM’s commander, said in a statement. “We will not hesitate to defend American forces, and if necessary, destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet.”

Al Jazeera reported that the U.S. military described the vessels as part of a multibillion-dollar network that finances the IRGC and its “regional proxies.” CENTCOM did not immediately provide further details on whether the strikes caused casualties, Al Jazeera reported.

Kharg Island, about 15 miles off Iran’s coast in the Persian Gulf, has repeatedly emerged as a flashpoint in the conflict. The island plays a central role in Iran’s oil industry and also has military capabilities, including air defenses and underground mines. Petras Katinas, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, previously told NBC News that Kharg is the “backbone” of Iran’s oil trade infrastructure and the primary gateway for the country’s oil reserves.

U.S. forces struck military targets on the island in March but deliberately spared its oil infrastructure. President Donald Trump said at the time that the U.S. could target energy facilities if Iran continued interfering with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

The BBC reported that Saturday’s strikes came nearly a week after renewed attacks between the U.S. and Iran, following a month of relative calm. The BBC said the U.S. and Israel launched wide-ranging strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, with Iran responding by attacking Israel, U.S. bases and allied states in the Gulf, and effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz to marine traffic.

Al Jazeera reported that the strikes came a day after Trump called the conflict, which it said has killed 18 U.S. service members and driven up global energy prices, “small potatoes.” It also reported that negotiations had collapsed to end the six-month war begun by the U.S. and Israel.